It’s a time of mourning in western New York. It’s also a time of maneuvering.

And Rochester business is in the thick of it.

The death this week of Buffalo Bills founder and owner Ralph Wilson Jr. will intensify efforts by leaders in the public and private sectors to keep the NFL team in Buffalo and resist money-laden suitors from other cities in America without a team.

Keeping the Bills could be a long shot. Or it could be a directive straight out of Ralph Wilson’s will.

“I do know that Ralph Wilson was a very smart man who wanted to keep the Bills here. But the ins and outs of estates and trusts at this point only lead to speculation until his wishes are made public,” local businessman I.C. Shah, a prominent local supporter of the Bills, said. “Right now, I’m just feeling the loss. But in my view there aren’t many people in western New York who can come up with the $1 billion or more to buy this team.”

Nevertheless, Shah and others agree that the fate of the Bills is of regional importance.

Having an NFL team down the Thruway not only has meant revenue and contracts to such local companies as Admar Supply, Manning Squires Henning, but also exposure for M&T Bank and others that advertise at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

In fact, according to some, the psychological value of the Bills may be greater than its economic punch.

“The studies I have seen have failed to show that the Bills have a major economic impact on this region,” Kent Gardner, chief economist at the Rochester-based Center for Governmental Research, said. “But the Bills do give this region visibility on the national stage. Similarly, losing the Bills likely would have a negative effect.”

“Typically, people overestimate the impact of things like this,” Ronald Schmidt, a professor at the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester, said. “If people didn’t have the game to go to or watch, they’d do something else.”

Schmidt predicted a regional effort to keep the Bills, but he wasn’t sanguine about its chances. “As for spending public money on the stadium, there are a lot better uses for the money,” he said. “How about better roads? I’m more worried about the state of taxes here than keeping the Bills.”

Others in the Rochester area took the opposite view: that having an NFL team in the region benefits businesses of all kinds — benefits that might not be easily seen by outsiders.

Donald Bain, president of St. John Fisher College, which last year signed a new five-year contract with the Bills to keep its summer training camp at the school, said Fisher’s relationship with the Bills has been “incredibly productive.”

“This is the only truly national franchise in western New York,” Bain said. “The positive effects are enormous, from the local businesses that serve as suppliers and support during the training camp to the internships for students.” He said Fisher’s sport management program attracts students in part because of the Bills’ annual presence.

Others ranging from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer to Rochester Business Alliance president and CEO Sandy Parker extolled Wilson and the Bills and the team’s value to western New York.

“While we are all still mourning his passing, there is no better way to honor Ralph Wilson’s legacy than keeping the Bills right where they belong: in Western New York,” Schumer said in a statement. “I am certain Ralph would want all of us to do everything we can to keep his dear Bills in Buffalo.”

Schumer is an appointee to a 21-member working group examining the feasibility of either building a new stadium to accommodate the Bills or to stick with a renovated stadium, where a $130 million upgrade is in progress.

Parker isn’t on the committee — no one from Monroe County is — but she said RBA members are anxious about the possibility of the Bills being sold to an outside buyer and moving.

She said grassroots efforts to retain the Bills have already reached her office.

“I’ve heard from something called the Buffalo Fan Alliance,” Parker said. “They’re looking for our support.” The alliance is looking to raise money and build political support to facilitate a sale of the team to a regional buyer.

Brian Cinelli of Buffalo, one of the leaders of the Fan Alliance, said Rochester’s backing is critical to any effort to retain the Bills.

“Rochester is a huge part of the Bills community,” Cinelli said. “The Bills are a regional team, not just a Buffalo entity.”